That stinks!
A months-long stench has plagued the streets of a Staten Island neighborhood – leaving frustrated residents suffering nausea, burning eyes, and some fleeing their homes to escape the mystery odor.
Bulls Head locals are now demanding answers after December road work on Merrill Avenue left a lingering putrid smell wafting through the neighborhood and into their homes, with many desperately searching for ways to rid themselves of it just to breathe freely again, according to WABC.
A months-long stench has plagued the streets of a Staten Island neighborhood – leaving frustrated residents suffering nausea, burning eyes, and some fleeing their homes to escape the mystery odor. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post
A New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) sewer maintenance truck uses a mechanical scoop to clean sewer lines at Graham and Merrill avenues in the Bulls Head section of Staten Island on March 14, 2026. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post
The DEP truck got to work at Graham and Merrill avenues early Saturday morning. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY PostAmity Nigro said the pungent odor smells like “rotten eggs, gas, and sewer.”
“We’re suffering,” Nigro told the outlet. “Our kids are suffering.”
Despite using scented candles, air purifiers, and sealing their doors, she said nothing can keep the overpowering stench from suffocating their homes.
Deborah Phelps-Seda said rank odor has driven her and her two kids out of their home on at least five separate occasions, with the situation making her feel “helpless.”
Bulls Head locals are demanding answers after December road work on Merrill Avenue left a lingering putrid smell wafting through the neighborhood and into their homes, according to WABC. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post
Many have desperately searched for ways to rid themselves of the smell just to breathe freely again, according to WABC. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post“Because the smell was burning our eyes, making us nauseous, giving us headaches – that’s why we had to evacuate up to five times already,” she told the outlet, adding she was first told back in December that the stench was coming from the sewer.
“They were opening up the road and it smelled really bad, so I had went out there and asked them about the situation and the smell was coming into my house and they told me it was the sewer.”
Since then, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection has inspected and cleaned the sewers, with a gas leak also ruled out, as the noxious smell continues unabated.
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection has inspected and cleaned the sewers, with a gas leak also ruled out, as the noxious smell continues unabated. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post
DEP sewer covers are seen at Graham and Merrill avenues in the Bulls Head section of Staten Island early Saturday. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY PostThe DEP told the outlet they have also installed filtration devices in area manholes in an effort to curb the smell, while monitoring wastewater and conducting air sampling, but said the sewers are functioning as intended as the investigation into the cause continues.
Rather than waiting for DEP to pinpoint the cause, City Councilman David Carr said he contacted the city Health Department to evaluate how the unusual odor might be affecting residents’ health.
“I think it needs a fresh set of eyes,” he said.
